The following is a press release written today by a group of muslim bloggers, journalists, and media people including myself. The idea is to coordinate the friday khutbas (sermons) in as many American mosques as possible this week to focus on the theme of domestic violence. This event is also posted to Facebook where you can show your support virtually.

In fact, I think this should be an annual event, every third friday of February. An annual recognition of the problem of domestic violence in muslim communities would ensure that this attention to this crucial issue isn’t transient. It’s amazing to see how the muslim American community has coalesced in unity around this tragic event, and I hope that this resolve will bring about genuine progress.

SAN FRANCISCO – A coalition of Muslim organizations, journalists,
community leaders, imams, and other concerned citizens are calling for
immediate action by American Muslim leaders and religious figures to
address domestic abuse and violence in America, including that found in
the American Muslim community, on Friday, February 20, 2009.

In
response to the collective concern of the American Muslim community,
imams and religious leaders across America have been asked to speak out
against domestic violence to their congregations. They are asked to
remind congregants of the Prophet Muhammad’s abhorrence of harshness,
abuse and violence, and emphasize solutions that strengthen families
and ensure all members are treated with fairness and respect, free of
fear of abuse or violence.

Members of the coalition are
contacting imams and religious leaders in major Islamic centers and
mosques. They are encouraging sermons addressing domestic violence and
are offering resources available through the Peaceful Families Project,
a Muslim-run domestic violence prevention organization founded in 2000,
to help educate the American Muslim community. This education addresses
the extent to which domestic violence exists and strategies to stop it.

Several
prominent imams have heeded the call to action by concerned American
Muslims including Shaykh Hamza Yusuf of the Zaytuna Institute in
Berkeley, Ca. and Imam Tahir Anwar of the South Bay Islamic Association
in San Jose, Ca. These imams have committed their Friday sermons to
addressing domestic violence and preaching that in the Islamic
tradition and by the example of the Prophet Muhammad, family harmony
can never be achieved by force and that emotional and physical abuse is
never acceptable.

This call is being broadcast through various
channels, including blogs, Facebook groups, personal contacts, and news
media. “The outcry among Muslim Americans against this type of violence
is a heartfelt one,” said Shahed Amanullah, editor-in-chief of
the online newsmagazine altmuslim.com.
“It is essential that we address the problem and take steps to ensure
that no one else faces the same tragic fate as Ms. Zubair.”

Specific calls to action for imams and religious leaders include:

Unequivocally denounce domestic violence and any attitudes that enable or excuse it

Remind Muslims that the Prophet Muhammad condemned with unequivocal language all forms of spousal abuse.

Immediately
create community social service committees made up of qualified social
service providers to supply educational resources and staff
institutional programs that support abused and battered women.